BOB went in for its op. a couple of weeks ago now. The MK1 Pi engine was installed along with a recon. box and o/d and carbs were tweaked to account for the new set-up (BFGs for now).
When I picked the car up I was rather astonished by the lumpiness of the cam. I expected a bit of snorting, but it was shaking like a junky and barking like a dog. It wasn't just loud it was positively antisocial. I took it down to an exhaust place recommended by the engine builder (Graham Westwell) to have a resonator fitted (with a 25% parts discount) and some better brackets fitted, and was very happy with the result. A little less harsh, but plenty of presence.
Graham offered a 5,000km warranty on the engine if I adhere to his running in recommendations so I thought I better stick to that. We took BOB for a good run around the eastern side of the state over the next weekend, putting down 1200km whilst staying below 3,000rpm and seeing more amazing parts of Tassie... which is just as well as we're moving to Melbourne soon.
I was amazed that the fuel consumption stayed so reasonable, 28mpg on fairly mixed speeds - and the plugs were perfect.
The car has since been back to Graham to have the oil changed, head retorqued, tappets reset, cooling system flushed and coolant added, etc. It's even better now, getting smoother all the time. We can go up to 4,000rpm now ... and between 3-4k there's an incredible added "Whhhhaaaaaaaaaarp" noise. Ok the idle is still lumpy, but it's rarely ever going to idle if I can help it. There's shed loads of torque so 1st gear is virtually redundant, but it spins up nice and fast too ... I have to keep reigning myself in - can't wait to let it rip.
I picked up a replacement central console the other day off a mate (Russell), and fitted it. The old one had got brittle and cracked as they do, but Russell has a stack of perfect ones, including a very unusual one made of a thick firm plastic with a vinyl covering... sounds shonky I know, but the moulding was perfect and it fits perfectly too and looks exactly like the original. It really looks like it's factory made but Russell says he's never come across one before. Weird.
In a couple of weeks' time we're heading off on a big drive around South Australia via Melbourne. BOB's more fun than ever so I'm looking forward to putting down some k's. Should be great.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Engine Rebuild Update
So, the camshaft's back from its regrind at Wade Cams of Victoria to 444C 105 degrees... and a load of other impressive sounding numbers which give it TR5 characteristics apparently. Refaced cam followers and a regrind cost a total of $181 ... 85 quid or thereabouts.
It certainly looks better, anyway.
I took it up to the guy who's building the engine and he rubbed his hands with glea. All the engine parts are with the machine shop to do their bits, and new old stock vandervell bearings have only to wait a few more days before they're put to work. It's shaping up that I'll be able to drop the car in and pick it up a few days later without even missing a weekend's driving... fingers crossed.
It certainly looks better, anyway.
I took it up to the guy who's building the engine and he rubbed his hands with glea. All the engine parts are with the machine shop to do their bits, and new old stock vandervell bearings have only to wait a few more days before they're put to work. It's shaping up that I'll be able to drop the car in and pick it up a few days later without even missing a weekend's driving... fingers crossed.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Transplant time
We're planning a trip over to South Australia for most of July, so I thought it might be a good idea to get BOB checked out. I put it into a mechanic I trust asking him to have a look at a few things that were bugging me (noisy tappets, rear brakes, etc).
It's thirty years old this year, and has turned 125,000 km on the clock, so perhaps I shouldn't be that surprised to get a less than glowing report on BOB's health. It turned out that compression on one cylinder was worryingly low, and was pointing to problems with piston rings. Given the age of the engine it seemed best to take the plunge and get the whole thing rebuilt, and throw in a reconditioned gearbox for good measure.
I've spent enough time reading about other people's rebuilds to be a bit daunted by the whole thing. I've had lots of nice ideas about how to upgrade things for a little more power, but wasn't really intending on doing it for a while - and then to spend a bit of time, research it and collect the right parts. But we don't have time for that if we want to take BOB around SA in 6 week's time. So the 2.7 pi with roller rockers, top notch exhaust manifold, blah de blah will have to wait for now... I'm only going for the easy and cheaper stuff, based around a Mk1 Pi block and head.
The engine was sourced from another Hobart Triumph guy - Glen Johnson - who had it spare. He'd been told it had done minimal kms since a rebuild before he took it out of a wreck, but he'd never opened it up to see what it was like inside. Seeing as it was a Mk1 block and head I was hoping it would pop in with a new headgasket and save me a small fortune. Head off revealed the "recent rebuild" was done by somebody who probably shouldn't have bothered. Glazed bores, heavily carbonised valves and pistons, some weird applications of araldite, damaged cam lobes and unfortunately not the most desirable crank.
Cam Lobes
I'd been agonising about what to go for in the new engine, but this kind of helped me decide priorities. The machine shop can give everything a good clean up, the cam reground (TR5 spec.) unleaded head conversion, bores honed, flywheel lightened. I would have like to have for balanced everything, too, but the budget will ony go so far.
We're still using BOB in the meantime (in fact I'm tempted to thrash the arse of the current engine before it comes out ... just to make sure). There's some great big Yankee ship in town (hello sailors!) at the moment, the USS Tarawa, so we had a peak from a good vantage point today - appropriately enough at the Hobart Cenotaph. According to the local rag "The 250m vessel carries 35 aircraft including AV-8B Harrier jets and Cobra, Hueys, Super Stallion and Sea Knight helicopters" ... and 3,000 American sailors, heaven forbid.
It's thirty years old this year, and has turned 125,000 km on the clock, so perhaps I shouldn't be that surprised to get a less than glowing report on BOB's health. It turned out that compression on one cylinder was worryingly low, and was pointing to problems with piston rings. Given the age of the engine it seemed best to take the plunge and get the whole thing rebuilt, and throw in a reconditioned gearbox for good measure.
I've spent enough time reading about other people's rebuilds to be a bit daunted by the whole thing. I've had lots of nice ideas about how to upgrade things for a little more power, but wasn't really intending on doing it for a while - and then to spend a bit of time, research it and collect the right parts. But we don't have time for that if we want to take BOB around SA in 6 week's time. So the 2.7 pi with roller rockers, top notch exhaust manifold, blah de blah will have to wait for now... I'm only going for the easy and cheaper stuff, based around a Mk1 Pi block and head.
The engine was sourced from another Hobart Triumph guy - Glen Johnson - who had it spare. He'd been told it had done minimal kms since a rebuild before he took it out of a wreck, but he'd never opened it up to see what it was like inside. Seeing as it was a Mk1 block and head I was hoping it would pop in with a new headgasket and save me a small fortune. Head off revealed the "recent rebuild" was done by somebody who probably shouldn't have bothered. Glazed bores, heavily carbonised valves and pistons, some weird applications of araldite, damaged cam lobes and unfortunately not the most desirable crank.
Cam Lobes
I'd been agonising about what to go for in the new engine, but this kind of helped me decide priorities. The machine shop can give everything a good clean up, the cam reground (TR5 spec.) unleaded head conversion, bores honed, flywheel lightened. I would have like to have for balanced everything, too, but the budget will ony go so far.
We're still using BOB in the meantime (in fact I'm tempted to thrash the arse of the current engine before it comes out ... just to make sure). There's some great big Yankee ship in town (hello sailors!) at the moment, the USS Tarawa, so we had a peak from a good vantage point today - appropriately enough at the Hobart Cenotaph. According to the local rag "The 250m vessel carries 35 aircraft including AV-8B Harrier jets and Cobra, Hueys, Super Stallion and Sea Knight helicopters" ... and 3,000 American sailors, heaven forbid.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Targa Tasmania 2008
As usual i'm way behind and blogging stuff that happened last weekend. Tasmania's annual tarmac rally event came and went and we managed to catch one of the 39 stages. The rally takes the form of a five-day long tour around the State, with special stages interspersed along the way - some around the little towns and others in the sticks, but all on public roads. Although it's an amateur rally, some of the competitors are known faces. This year we had a few of the Australian Rally Championship fellas, and a certain Alister McRae (who took first place in the showroom FWD category).
The final stage of the week was in Hobart, but I wanted to try and avoid the scrum in town, and it was only a demonstration stage anyway. I fancied a whopping 47km stage three hours north of Hobart, which would have included some seriously fast sections and open views, but it would have been too much effort to make it. Instead we went to see stage 37 at Tarraleah. This stage snaked down a steep-sided forested valley past two hydro power stations, then back up the other side of the valley - a total of around 8km.
As I discovered when I picked up my programme for the event this year's field of ~300 entries had but two Triumph entries; a TR3a and Mk2 GT6. Well, by the final day it seemed that the TR had given up the ghost, but I had discovered that the GT6 was actually being driven by a UK Daily Telegraph writer and getting a bit of its own coverage back home.
We settled in at what seemed like a good spectator's corner and made cups of tea whilst the officials closed and cleared the road, then tried to get the best shots we could as a wide variety of cars of all shapes and sizes came carreering into the sharp bend we were watching - there must have been something wrong with the pace notes as more than a few locked up and struggled to negotiate things correctly.
One soon learns that one is not a sports photographer in these situations!!!
I've always had a soft spot for the Renault Spider
The race is run in reverse order, so once the slower, more interesting cars had gone and we began to get bored with a relentless stream of Evos, 911 GTs and Subarus we headed back to our own little rally car (!) and joined the Targa convoy to head to the New Norfolk lunch stop. This meant that we had half an hour or so behind a Porker GT3 and some Evos through the winding roads, which was a good laugh despite the relatively gentle pace.
The final stage of the week was in Hobart, but I wanted to try and avoid the scrum in town, and it was only a demonstration stage anyway. I fancied a whopping 47km stage three hours north of Hobart, which would have included some seriously fast sections and open views, but it would have been too much effort to make it. Instead we went to see stage 37 at Tarraleah. This stage snaked down a steep-sided forested valley past two hydro power stations, then back up the other side of the valley - a total of around 8km.
As I discovered when I picked up my programme for the event this year's field of ~300 entries had but two Triumph entries; a TR3a and Mk2 GT6. Well, by the final day it seemed that the TR had given up the ghost, but I had discovered that the GT6 was actually being driven by a UK Daily Telegraph writer and getting a bit of its own coverage back home.
We settled in at what seemed like a good spectator's corner and made cups of tea whilst the officials closed and cleared the road, then tried to get the best shots we could as a wide variety of cars of all shapes and sizes came carreering into the sharp bend we were watching - there must have been something wrong with the pace notes as more than a few locked up and struggled to negotiate things correctly.
One soon learns that one is not a sports photographer in these situations!!!
I've always had a soft spot for the Renault Spider
Peter Hall was giving it his all, although my Triumph contacts on the mainland said he'd had a diff. sent down in the week...
The race is run in reverse order, so once the slower, more interesting cars had gone and we began to get bored with a relentless stream of Evos, 911 GTs and Subarus we headed back to our own little rally car (!) and joined the Targa convoy to head to the New Norfolk lunch stop. This meant that we had half an hour or so behind a Porker GT3 and some Evos through the winding roads, which was a good laugh despite the relatively gentle pace.
The lunch stop was great, too. All the cars lined up waiting for their off, drivers and co-drivers having a relaxed chat, knowing that there were only a couple of stages left in the week. New Norfolk looked rather different to usual!
We cruised back to Hobart, and I noted the momentous occasion of overtaking Alister McRae (ok it was on a dual carriageway).
In the evening we popped down to the casino down the road from our place to see the finish line and all the cars parked up. It was dark unfortunately, so the photos are pretty ordinary, but there was a real buzz around. I was hoping to catch up with Peter Hall to see how he'd found Tassie. Ella and her sister compiled a catalogue of cars they would happily own, a selection of which are below:
This Volvo would have to win the 'noise of the day' award in my opinion and it was being driven very hard indeed.
Anyone for a Jowett?
Well, Ella is well and truly hooked now and would love to give the Targa a go one day. Of course I would, but could I ever see myself getting enough time and money to do it? Who knows...
Friday, February 29, 2008
Clutching Sexist Australians
Strange title ... sort of relevant?
I got the clutch problem sorted out in the end. A couple of hundred bucks got me a brand new replacement master cylinder. It's a modern one off the shelf rather than a NOS Stanpart job. A bit of modification to the bulkhead a customised pushrod and a couple of hours labour, and voila! So cheap, but that's Tassie! I'll stick some photos up when I get to it. It mates up to the hose I had made up for $100... so all up $300 (about 140 GBP)
Not long after I started work at a consulting engineering firm I noticed this book on a colleague's shelf. It wasn't the fascinating subject that drew my attention, nor the comparatively quiet Sydney Harbour Bridge of 1970, but the car on the spine! Brrmm brmmm - it's a Mk1 2000
They were pretty popular out here clearly, as this 'Wheels' magazine article from September 1968 explains ... and with such great style, too. "Reverse is safely out of the way of the other four, too - a consoling thought for husbands whose wives might be driving the car in their absence" - you couldn't say that today ... could you? Note that it calls the Mk1 of 1968 the Mk2 due to the slight changes that were made to the model. Confusing.
I got the clutch problem sorted out in the end. A couple of hundred bucks got me a brand new replacement master cylinder. It's a modern one off the shelf rather than a NOS Stanpart job. A bit of modification to the bulkhead a customised pushrod and a couple of hours labour, and voila! So cheap, but that's Tassie! I'll stick some photos up when I get to it. It mates up to the hose I had made up for $100... so all up $300 (about 140 GBP)
Not long after I started work at a consulting engineering firm I noticed this book on a colleague's shelf. It wasn't the fascinating subject that drew my attention, nor the comparatively quiet Sydney Harbour Bridge of 1970, but the car on the spine! Brrmm brmmm - it's a Mk1 2000
They were pretty popular out here clearly, as this 'Wheels' magazine article from September 1968 explains ... and with such great style, too. "Reverse is safely out of the way of the other four, too - a consoling thought for husbands whose wives might be driving the car in their absence" - you couldn't say that today ... could you? Note that it calls the Mk1 of 1968 the Mk2 due to the slight changes that were made to the model. Confusing.
Monday, February 04, 2008
Clutching at hoses
The overdrive turned out to be an easy fix - just a connector that had broken. So I replaced that and all is well again.
I popped up to a hydraulic hose place - Enzed - on saturday morning and had a braided hose made up to replace the old plastic one I've been having issues with. First I'd had a read of Dave Powell's lengthy musings on the subject of hoses and fittings (thrilling stuff... must see if I can get membership of the Joint Industry Committee). That gave me enough info. to be dangerous, but I didn't actually need any of it - the guy at the shop just took a look at the current set-up and 5 mins later handed me the right stuff, all connectors, elbow joint, etc, for $100 ... a bit pricey for a clutch hose, but it should be good. If this doesn't solve my problems I'll be moving on to a new master cylinder.
Then I took a trip up to a Alladin's Cave to get a replacement fixed fan - decided I'm tempting fate too much with the electric - and a driver's side parcel tray. Took the time to get some photos of BOB next to Russell's matching 'S' ... spot (and stripe) the differences. Actually Russell's is considerably tidier.
Meanwhile, the Mk1 I've been thinking about is coming along nicely - with lots of attention being lavished. It looks better with Mk1 wheels on now, still needs some trim and the nose badge, plus repainted roof and touch-up.
Went out with a friend with a DV Camcorder the other week ... messed about taking some shots on some hilly roads. I spliced in an appearance from Juan in the car as he smashed the camera into his eye on a corner! Looks a bit slow, but it's interesting to see (and hear) your own car from outside. The back end is jacked up pretty high when the car's got no weight in the boot and it's diving into the corner (with Witor 160lb front springs). Sounds pretty nice though. Unfortunately this video got totally over-compressed so it's not very clear... never mind.
I popped up to a hydraulic hose place - Enzed - on saturday morning and had a braided hose made up to replace the old plastic one I've been having issues with. First I'd had a read of Dave Powell's lengthy musings on the subject of hoses and fittings (thrilling stuff... must see if I can get membership of the Joint Industry Committee). That gave me enough info. to be dangerous, but I didn't actually need any of it - the guy at the shop just took a look at the current set-up and 5 mins later handed me the right stuff, all connectors, elbow joint, etc, for $100 ... a bit pricey for a clutch hose, but it should be good. If this doesn't solve my problems I'll be moving on to a new master cylinder.
Then I took a trip up to a Alladin's Cave to get a replacement fixed fan - decided I'm tempting fate too much with the electric - and a driver's side parcel tray. Took the time to get some photos of BOB next to Russell's matching 'S' ... spot (and stripe) the differences. Actually Russell's is considerably tidier.
Meanwhile, the Mk1 I've been thinking about is coming along nicely - with lots of attention being lavished. It looks better with Mk1 wheels on now, still needs some trim and the nose badge, plus repainted roof and touch-up.
Went out with a friend with a DV Camcorder the other week ... messed about taking some shots on some hilly roads. I spliced in an appearance from Juan in the car as he smashed the camera into his eye on a corner! Looks a bit slow, but it's interesting to see (and hear) your own car from outside. The back end is jacked up pretty high when the car's got no weight in the boot and it's diving into the corner (with Witor 160lb front springs). Sounds pretty nice though. Unfortunately this video got totally over-compressed so it's not very clear... never mind.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
No-verdrive
By which I mean of course ... I have no working overdrive at the moment.
So I had a rummage around and found a loose yellow wire with no spade on the end - and there's no way I can get my hand into the space I presume it need to go. Looks like I'll be lowering the gearbox a little to try and get to it.
How is it that there can be produced a several hundred page workshop manual detailing all kinds of meticulous detail about things as mundane as the inside of a bloody starter motor, and the type of waterproofing seals used on a car notorious for rusting, but there's no bloody wiring diagram for the J-type overdrive (unless I just can't find it). There isn't even a photo/diagram of the outside of the bloody thing!
Ho hum ...
So I had a rummage around and found a loose yellow wire with no spade on the end - and there's no way I can get my hand into the space I presume it need to go. Looks like I'll be lowering the gearbox a little to try and get to it.
How is it that there can be produced a several hundred page workshop manual detailing all kinds of meticulous detail about things as mundane as the inside of a bloody starter motor, and the type of waterproofing seals used on a car notorious for rusting, but there's no bloody wiring diagram for the J-type overdrive (unless I just can't find it). There isn't even a photo/diagram of the outside of the bloody thing!
Ho hum ...
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Blistering bonnets!
BOB has been so reliable it seems inevitable that sooner or later my luck had to run out. I've only had one temporary breakdown (a split cooling system hose) in 32,000km of driving, and then it was a five minute fix, top-up and drive on.
I've been occassionally having to bleed the clutch for the last few months, especially since changing a leaky slave cylinder. I'm guessing that changing the 1 inch for 7/8s has altered the dynamics of the hydraulic system because the clutch gets progressively spongy until the biting point is on the floor. I recently removed the crank-driven fan to just use the thermo. one and the superb radiator on their own instead. No problems where the engine temp. is concerned, but I wonder if it added to my problems this last weekend?
Having bled the clutch on Friday night and swopped the rear springs over on saturday morning (that's another story - one seems to be a little bent!) I was out doing some shopping. When I pulled out of a parking space the clutch pedal hit the floor and the car stalled. Bugger! The hydraulic hose had popped off the master cylinder and sprayed fluid all over the engine bay! So home it was with rev-matching to shower the underside of the bonnet before the paint got damaged. A couple of hours of fruitless bleeding later I removed the slave cylinder to get it above the height of the master ... and hey presto!
Next day we had a nice trip out - 100 miles or so - to the beach, giving it lots of beans, overtakes, etc, no problem. Got home then decided to wash the car. Pop goes the hose again! Double Bugger. A bit quicker job this time though, with the slave removed straight away. I presume that the heat had built up under the bonnet whilst parked up in the garage???
Monday was a bank holiday, so I took her out again and gave BOB a major ragging up the mountains ... no problems with the clutch - phew.
But ... the overdrive has stopped operating! It had been slipping out from time to time, especially on bumpy roads or overrun - but the solenoid sounded
like it was engaging. Now the solenoid doesn't click. Time to learn a little about J-type overdrives I guess.
I wonder - does BOB know that I've been looking at this MK1 PI do you think?
I've been occassionally having to bleed the clutch for the last few months, especially since changing a leaky slave cylinder. I'm guessing that changing the 1 inch for 7/8s has altered the dynamics of the hydraulic system because the clutch gets progressively spongy until the biting point is on the floor. I recently removed the crank-driven fan to just use the thermo. one and the superb radiator on their own instead. No problems where the engine temp. is concerned, but I wonder if it added to my problems this last weekend?
Having bled the clutch on Friday night and swopped the rear springs over on saturday morning (that's another story - one seems to be a little bent!) I was out doing some shopping. When I pulled out of a parking space the clutch pedal hit the floor and the car stalled. Bugger! The hydraulic hose had popped off the master cylinder and sprayed fluid all over the engine bay! So home it was with rev-matching to shower the underside of the bonnet before the paint got damaged. A couple of hours of fruitless bleeding later I removed the slave cylinder to get it above the height of the master ... and hey presto!
Next day we had a nice trip out - 100 miles or so - to the beach, giving it lots of beans, overtakes, etc, no problem. Got home then decided to wash the car. Pop goes the hose again! Double Bugger. A bit quicker job this time though, with the slave removed straight away. I presume that the heat had built up under the bonnet whilst parked up in the garage???
Monday was a bank holiday, so I took her out again and gave BOB a major ragging up the mountains ... no problems with the clutch - phew.
But ... the overdrive has stopped operating! It had been slipping out from time to time, especially on bumpy roads or overrun - but the solenoid sounded
like it was engaging. Now the solenoid doesn't click. Time to learn a little about J-type overdrives I guess.I wonder - does BOB know that I've been looking at this MK1 PI do you think?
Friday, December 07, 2007
Autocar - 1973
Got my hands on a perfect copy of the infamous edition of Autocar 26 July 1973 ... seen before by many, no doubt, but the first time I've seen it. Enjoy the review of the new Dolly Sprint, and the Lord Stokes interview, prophetic or pathetic? You decide. (I wonder what he would have made of a K-series Spitfire?):
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Aladdin's Cave
Well the commercial bloggers are really hotting up now ... so I've decided I should type in a nice soothing blue colour and stick to less controversial issues, and avoid links, 'cos I never have the time to follow them anyway.
I met a really interesting person last weekend, someone I’ve wanted to meet for a while – the chap who has a front yard literally littered with Triumphs. His name’s Russell, and he’s clearly got a collection. He has an aim in life to keep as many Triumphs on the road as possible. I recently counted seven saloons and one Dolomite on his drive, but he’s been cutting back and when I went to see him on Saturday there were only three saloons, a bodyshell and a dolly.
I was interested at having a look at his fireball red ‘S’ because it looks so much like BOB. It’s had some subtle modifications including the rear end colour matching, etc. Looking under the bonnet really put me to shame, though!
The wheels have been "Chattertoned" too:
One of the other cars looks like a standard 'S', albeit in the unusual Guinea Gold paintwork ... lurking underneath the bonnet is a professionally fitted 1977 4.2 Holden V8. It's not running at the mo. but I was assured it goes like the clappers. Incidentally it's for sale for a little under $2,000. Contact me if you're interested and I'll pass details on.
It has some neat little touches like a 4.2 grille:
And a filler neck protector (well worth having IMHO):
Russell probably has enough parts in his double garage, two containers and yard to put together several more saloons, but the only other one there that day, with an engine in it at least, was the Bamboo saloon, with Pi engine but CD175 Carbs. This has had the suspension worked apparently:
Russell sold me a set of Pi back seats for BOB for a very reasonable price. So on Sunday I fitted them... you can see why I got rid of the old ones! Check the sun damage, the grey is where the black has bleached or deteriorated - it's not dust!
And the new ones:
Sweet, now the interior's looking much better.
I met a really interesting person last weekend, someone I’ve wanted to meet for a while – the chap who has a front yard literally littered with Triumphs. His name’s Russell, and he’s clearly got a collection. He has an aim in life to keep as many Triumphs on the road as possible. I recently counted seven saloons and one Dolomite on his drive, but he’s been cutting back and when I went to see him on Saturday there were only three saloons, a bodyshell and a dolly.
I was interested at having a look at his fireball red ‘S’ because it looks so much like BOB. It’s had some subtle modifications including the rear end colour matching, etc. Looking under the bonnet really put me to shame, though!
The wheels have been "Chattertoned" too:
One of the other cars looks like a standard 'S', albeit in the unusual Guinea Gold paintwork ... lurking underneath the bonnet is a professionally fitted 1977 4.2 Holden V8. It's not running at the mo. but I was assured it goes like the clappers. Incidentally it's for sale for a little under $2,000. Contact me if you're interested and I'll pass details on.
It has some neat little touches like a 4.2 grille:
And a filler neck protector (well worth having IMHO):
Russell probably has enough parts in his double garage, two containers and yard to put together several more saloons, but the only other one there that day, with an engine in it at least, was the Bamboo saloon, with Pi engine but CD175 Carbs. This has had the suspension worked apparently:
Russell sold me a set of Pi back seats for BOB for a very reasonable price. So on Sunday I fitted them... you can see why I got rid of the old ones! Check the sun damage, the grey is where the black has bleached or deteriorated - it's not dust!
And the new ones:
Sweet, now the interior's looking much better.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Did it.
It's still not Triumph ... totally non-technical, and all about me. But if I didn't blog it, then anyone who saw the last post might think I'd chickened out or that I didn't make it all the way to the top.
It went off without a hitch: I decided my tactics well before the race, and after having tried the course in two halves over the previous two weekends: Start at the back, run steady and probably finish at the back. I had a feeling that I’d be able to run the full distance and was hoping to make it in 2hrs 30mins – 2hrs 45mins. I wasn’t racing, I just wanted to get to the top.
Although it was cloudy at the start, and the top of the mountain was shrouded in mist, we ran through the cloud, as you can see from the photos Ella took as she walked up.
I made the halfway mark a little ahead of my target time, but, seeing as the course went up the side of a mountain, getting steeper and steeper, I knew I was going to slow down eventually. I had planned on conserving enough energy, such that at the final drink stop (at 19km) I could try and pick up the pace and get to the line in a bit of style (amidst the sweat and tears!). As it was, at 19km I was pretty much blown out, so I walked for a couple of hundred metres, before struggling to run at speed. I managed to do ok, but with 1km to go I slowed to a walk to summon up some more grunt. I fixed my eyes on a guy walking in front and caught up with him, told him that he was going to cross the line running with me, and proceeded to bully him over the line! I’m not quite sure where that came from, but he seemed appreciative. In this photo that Ella took he at least seemed to be talking to me!
I crossed the line at 2.42.06 placed 268 out of 358 finishers. Respectable enough for an unaccomplished runner that hasn’t run a half marathon before, let alone 1200 metres up a mountain. I think this photo shows how high up it is:
I think that all the food and water I consumed did me good, as I haven’t had any serious aches and pains apart from a bit of pain in my knee, which I’m sure will get better soon. It was great fun, and I’d certainly do it again.
It went off without a hitch: I decided my tactics well before the race, and after having tried the course in two halves over the previous two weekends: Start at the back, run steady and probably finish at the back. I had a feeling that I’d be able to run the full distance and was hoping to make it in 2hrs 30mins – 2hrs 45mins. I wasn’t racing, I just wanted to get to the top.
Although it was cloudy at the start, and the top of the mountain was shrouded in mist, we ran through the cloud, as you can see from the photos Ella took as she walked up.
I made the halfway mark a little ahead of my target time, but, seeing as the course went up the side of a mountain, getting steeper and steeper, I knew I was going to slow down eventually. I had planned on conserving enough energy, such that at the final drink stop (at 19km) I could try and pick up the pace and get to the line in a bit of style (amidst the sweat and tears!). As it was, at 19km I was pretty much blown out, so I walked for a couple of hundred metres, before struggling to run at speed. I managed to do ok, but with 1km to go I slowed to a walk to summon up some more grunt. I fixed my eyes on a guy walking in front and caught up with him, told him that he was going to cross the line running with me, and proceeded to bully him over the line! I’m not quite sure where that came from, but he seemed appreciative. In this photo that Ella took he at least seemed to be talking to me!
I crossed the line at 2.42.06 placed 268 out of 358 finishers. Respectable enough for an unaccomplished runner that hasn’t run a half marathon before, let alone 1200 metres up a mountain. I think this photo shows how high up it is:
I think that all the food and water I consumed did me good, as I haven’t had any serious aches and pains apart from a bit of pain in my knee, which I’m sure will get better soon. It was great fun, and I’d certainly do it again.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Humungous Pinnacle!
Well nobody else seems to be making much sense in the CT blogosphere at the moment, so I thought I'd mention that I have a rather different challenge coming up at the weekend.
I've decided to enter the Point to Pinnacle half marathon... why? I'm not sure. But seeing as it starts very near my house, I thought I'd give it a bash. The organiser's recommend a year of training, I only found out about it two weeks ago.
Very Club Triumph, eh? Perhaps I should stay up all night glueing my running shoes together, and use gaffer tape for laces?
So, on Sunday morning I'll be setting off from sea level at Wrest Point Casino, and running (hopefully all of it ... but we'll see) 21.4km (13.3 miles) to the Pinnacle at the top of Mt Wellington at (cough) 1,273m (4,176 feet).
With any luck it will be bad weather and they'll stop us from going to the top! Here's my Google Earth mock-up of the course:
I've decided to enter the Point to Pinnacle half marathon... why? I'm not sure. But seeing as it starts very near my house, I thought I'd give it a bash. The organiser's recommend a year of training, I only found out about it two weeks ago.
Very Club Triumph, eh? Perhaps I should stay up all night glueing my running shoes together, and use gaffer tape for laces?
So, on Sunday morning I'll be setting off from sea level at Wrest Point Casino, and running (hopefully all of it ... but we'll see) 21.4km (13.3 miles) to the Pinnacle at the top of Mt Wellington at (cough) 1,273m (4,176 feet).
With any luck it will be bad weather and they'll stop us from going to the top! Here's my Google Earth mock-up of the course:
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Absolutely filthy
The car, that is.
There are very few driving experiences I've had to beat the likes of a RBRR or 10CR experience. Exhausting as they may be, it's a real buzz to travel such long distances, and as for the camaraderie ... superb! However, last weekend Ella and I headed off to see a bit more of Tassie, and that was really, really, really good.
There are regional public holidays in Australia, and last Thursday we had "Show Day" in the south of Tassie. A great excuse to get out of town. We've already seen a fair bit of the south, some of the east, and a bit of the west. So we decided to do a road trip up the guts of the island to the north end of the state, then out to the wild west.
As we left town on Thursday I decided the clutch was definitely getting worse - so after half an hour, we pulled over and bled the clutch. I think when I changed the slave cylinder a month ago the realignment must have let some air in somewhere, because it's been great again since bleeding and hasn't got worse again ... touch wood.
The drive north down the Midland Highway is nothing special, fast but pretty boring. After lunch in Launceston we headed west to Devonport, where the fragments of dual carriageway finally peter out. So after 3.5 hours the intersting driving began, along sweeping coastal roads that took us to Boat Harbour, where the sea is most definitely blue!
A bit further west along the coast is Rocky Cape National Park - complete with Aboriginal caves nicely built into the quartzite.
I also spotted a "stupid sign" ... which way's the beach?
We camped by the sea at Black River, and had the whole place to ourselves ... except for some pademelons and wombats.
Next day we got to the first of the dirt roads! We tried to do the South Arthur Forest Drive - it's supposed to be a loop in amongst some impressive forests, with lots of windy roads and tracks and very little traffic about. Unfortunately though the loop was, erm, broken. Floods in August wiped out the bridge - look at these photos and see if you can spot the huge chunk of dolerite that was ripped up.
Never mind, we made our own way back around the loop, crossing lots of other interesting bridges:
Then we pushed out to the tiny town of Arthur River on the west coast for the night. Now you're talking - these roads were pretty rough, but solid.
Unfortunately it was extremely dusty too, and the boot was filling up with dust!
At Arthur River we had one of those very lucky moments, though. We were just about to eat our dinner (kangaroo stew cooked on the barbeque!) when Ella noticed fluid leaking from the car. We had driven 15km up the coast to get a full tank of petrol, and the full tank was trying to run out all over the campground. Amazingly, it was spotted before more than a litre had run out. It wouldn't have been fun to be stranded this far out with no fuel I can tell you!
The next day I got to drive the best road I've ever driven in my life. For over 100km we didn't see a single other vehicle as we ventured down the Western Explorer road. It was all dirt, loads of mountains, lots of variety from open plains to forests. Totally idyllic and a real treat to get to know how to handle BOB, on dirt, at speed, round corners. Even Ella seemed happy with this as you can see from the photos:
We arrived in Corrina - an amazing old frontier place - with big smiles on our faces, and after a coffee break, headed back inland, along more dirt roads, to Waratah, and then to Cradle Mountain for the night. I got a video of a Wombat from BOB too ...
After a night at Cradle Mountain it was time to head back to Hobart - via lot more great roads, of course. Here we are above Great Lake in the Central Highlands (at about 1,400m - which is high in Australia!).
All up we did about 1,100km, much of it on slow roads and all within the hours of daylight... it's not recommended to hit Wombats (colloquial term "Badger") as they're pretty hefty.
So what about the subject of this entry ... well that's about the state the car is in now - filthy. It's caked on like concrete, actually, could be fun trying to clean it.
There are very few driving experiences I've had to beat the likes of a RBRR or 10CR experience. Exhausting as they may be, it's a real buzz to travel such long distances, and as for the camaraderie ... superb! However, last weekend Ella and I headed off to see a bit more of Tassie, and that was really, really, really good.
There are regional public holidays in Australia, and last Thursday we had "Show Day" in the south of Tassie. A great excuse to get out of town. We've already seen a fair bit of the south, some of the east, and a bit of the west. So we decided to do a road trip up the guts of the island to the north end of the state, then out to the wild west.
As we left town on Thursday I decided the clutch was definitely getting worse - so after half an hour, we pulled over and bled the clutch. I think when I changed the slave cylinder a month ago the realignment must have let some air in somewhere, because it's been great again since bleeding and hasn't got worse again ... touch wood.
The drive north down the Midland Highway is nothing special, fast but pretty boring. After lunch in Launceston we headed west to Devonport, where the fragments of dual carriageway finally peter out. So after 3.5 hours the intersting driving began, along sweeping coastal roads that took us to Boat Harbour, where the sea is most definitely blue!
A bit further west along the coast is Rocky Cape National Park - complete with Aboriginal caves nicely built into the quartzite.
I also spotted a "stupid sign" ... which way's the beach?
We camped by the sea at Black River, and had the whole place to ourselves ... except for some pademelons and wombats.
Next day we got to the first of the dirt roads! We tried to do the South Arthur Forest Drive - it's supposed to be a loop in amongst some impressive forests, with lots of windy roads and tracks and very little traffic about. Unfortunately though the loop was, erm, broken. Floods in August wiped out the bridge - look at these photos and see if you can spot the huge chunk of dolerite that was ripped up.
Never mind, we made our own way back around the loop, crossing lots of other interesting bridges:
Then we pushed out to the tiny town of Arthur River on the west coast for the night. Now you're talking - these roads were pretty rough, but solid.
Unfortunately it was extremely dusty too, and the boot was filling up with dust!
At Arthur River we had one of those very lucky moments, though. We were just about to eat our dinner (kangaroo stew cooked on the barbeque!) when Ella noticed fluid leaking from the car. We had driven 15km up the coast to get a full tank of petrol, and the full tank was trying to run out all over the campground. Amazingly, it was spotted before more than a litre had run out. It wouldn't have been fun to be stranded this far out with no fuel I can tell you!
The next day I got to drive the best road I've ever driven in my life. For over 100km we didn't see a single other vehicle as we ventured down the Western Explorer road. It was all dirt, loads of mountains, lots of variety from open plains to forests. Totally idyllic and a real treat to get to know how to handle BOB, on dirt, at speed, round corners. Even Ella seemed happy with this as you can see from the photos:
We arrived in Corrina - an amazing old frontier place - with big smiles on our faces, and after a coffee break, headed back inland, along more dirt roads, to Waratah, and then to Cradle Mountain for the night. I got a video of a Wombat from BOB too ...
After a night at Cradle Mountain it was time to head back to Hobart - via lot more great roads, of course. Here we are above Great Lake in the Central Highlands (at about 1,400m - which is high in Australia!).
All up we did about 1,100km, much of it on slow roads and all within the hours of daylight... it's not recommended to hit Wombats (colloquial term "Badger") as they're pretty hefty.
So what about the subject of this entry ... well that's about the state the car is in now - filthy. It's caked on like concrete, actually, could be fun trying to clean it.
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